RCM Museum opens state-of-the-art research facility
Tuesday 1 November 2022
The Royal College of Music Museum is delighted to announce the opening of the Wolfson Centre in Music & Material Culture.
The Wolfson Centre allows students and researchers easy access to the RCM’s designated collections of musical instruments, paintings, early prints, drawings and sculptures. The opening of the Wolfson Centre comes after the retrieval of over 14,000 objects from their offsite storage locations.
The Centre provides space for object-based learning sessions for RCM and external classes focusing on 18th and 20th century objects. These sessions are designed to help students acquire hands on experience with the collections and to introduce them to various research methods. Additionally, a dedicated research and digitisation space supports both in-person study visits and the generation of digital assets, using traditional digitisation methods such as photography alongside emerging techniques such as 3D scanning.
The Wolfson Centre is equipped with climate-controlled storage units, providing a state-of-the-art facility for the long-term protection of the collections. A conservation workshop provides somewhere for RCM and external conservators to directly engage with the preservation of its historic objects.
[video1]
Project lead, Richard Martin, Digital and Documentation Officer said: 'With many of the Museum's musical treasures now stored in the new Wolfson Centre in Music & Material Culture, the facility will provide many educational benefits to the College and our students.'
The opening of the Wolfson Centre represents a key component of the More Music project, with works supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Wolfson Foundation.
Visitors to the Wolfson Centre can look forward to guided tours, with behind-the-scenes access to seldom-seen rarities and stories from music history. Visit our Museum events pages for upcoming events.
For research requests and further information, please contact museum.info@rcm.ac.uk. Visits to the Wolfson Centre are available by appointment.
